Ethanol 2.0

Currently, almost all of the world's ethanol starts out as corn, grain, or sugarcane. These feedstocks provide the sugars necessary to produce the liquid alcohol via a fermentation process. Fermentation is a first-generation process and, while it has played a central role in the advancement of alternative fuels, it cannot supply an entire nation's biofuel supply on its own. The key is in diversification and innovation.

The future lies in ethanol and other biofuels produced from newer advanced technologies that provide significantly improved economic and environmental advantages. This second generation ethanol - or 'Ethanol 2.0' - will be produced more efficiently, have less impact on the environment, and can be made from waste resources (bagasse, stover, MSW, etc....) or entirely renewable cellulosic biomass (switchgrass,forestry residues etc).

Cellulosic what? Biomass is essentially any organic plant -or plant derived- material that contains cellulose. While it may sound alien, cellulose is actually the most common organic compound on earth. It can be found in everything from agricultural and forestry residues, energy crops such as 'switch grass', municipal sewage, animal manure and even scrap paper. Most of these materials are generally considered waste streams with little to no market value; much of it ending up discarded in landfills or burned, releasing even more GHG's into the environment.

A 2007 study, by the U.S. Department of Energy, estimates that over 1.3 billion tons of renewable biomass can potentially be harvested for biofuel production. That's equivalent to over 140 billion gallons of gasoline - the consumption for the entire United States.

Research has also revealed cellulosic ethanol to have a better net-energy balance and significantly higher GHG reductions than most current biofuels. The majority of current biofuels only achieve GHG reductions between 20-40%, whereas cellulosic ethanol was shown to reduce GHG emissions by up to 90%, compared to conventional gasoline. The development of the alternative fuel sector will also help create thousands of job opportunities in various partnering and supporting sectors within a brand new industry.